Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a new deck?

To Create a deck:

There are a couple of ways to create a new deck.

Download : You can download an existing deck off the web. This may be a deck that you created or that someone else created. You can look for information on how to create a deck online in another question.

From Scratch : To create a deck using just the application on your iPhone or iPod go to the main launch page and tap on the "New Deck" button. Select 'From Scratch' to build on from nothing. You will need to enter a Deck Name, the Description is optional but it will show up in the Deck Listing page under the name. If you're in 'Advanced' mode you can add additional information or tap on the the Add Cards button at the bottom. This button renames to Card Listing when you edit this deck later. You must add a card here. If you return you will be forced back to adding a question. Give into the force Luke, add the cards now, or at least a few to get started. Again your interface is more complex in Advanced mode but either way - add at least a question and I'd recommend adding an answer too.

Also, if you're on the Deck Listing page you can tap Edit then scroll to the bottom and tap on the last row to "Add a Deck".

How do I use special character for centering, larger or smaller text?

We need to use special formatting commands:

[c][/c] - example [c]centered text[/c]

[h][/h] - example [h]larger text[/h]

[f][/f] - example [f]smaller text[/f]

[n] - by itself will put a newline on the card.

[t] - by itself will put a tab on the card.

The closing command (e.g. [/c], [/h] and [/f]) are required if you want that functionality to stop. You can also nest them so you can have centered large text by using [c][h]centered large text[/c][/h].

How do I use the Google Docs to create cards

You'll need to go out to the website: www.WorkLifeStudy.com/createCards.html
This is the same page where the links to the Google Doc files are located.
Scroll down on that page and you'll see a place to add your Deck Name and a big box at the bottom to paste the text for your cards into.

The Google Docs template just makes it easier to create that text. A simple formula in the spreadsheet knits together your Questions & Answers into the format that StudyCards can read. Save your spreadsheet.

Once you've added a few questions and answers into your Google Docs spreadsheet look to the far right column (it's red). This column contains the text you will need to copy. Highlight the text and Copy from the last column. Next, go to the website above. Name your new Deck. Paste the text you just copied from the spreadsheet into the large box. Be sure you have put in a deck name and click the "Submit" button.

The page redisplays and your deck will be created and put in the "_New" category. [We named it "_New" so it goes to the bottom of the Category list and is easy to find].

Now that your deck has been created you can go back to StudyCards, Download, Navigate to the _New directory and select the deck you just created.

If later you find you need to change something in your cards like a typo, or remove or add a card or two, you can use that same spreadsheet to make the changes, repeat the above process. You can even use the same deck name again. As I mentioned - be sure to always save your spreadsheets with a unique name per deck. You can always go back and recreate that deck in seconds on the website.

Give it a shot, there's some instructions out on the page that I hope are helpful. The real power of the spreadsheet comes in when you get into Multiple Choice cards. The syntax was just becoming too confusing to manually write out. Good luck!

After Upgrade application crashes when I view my cards

Sorry this happened. The fix may be simple though:

First - What I would like you to do is try shutting and restarting down the iPhone and restarting.

Hold the power button (top of the iPhone) down until you see "slide to power off", swipe the red arrow. You phone will shutdown.

Try StudyCards to see if this worked.

If not try the Next Steps:

Change some of the Settings. Tap on 'Change Settings', then change the Font the Helvetica (12pt, 90pt), Background to Black. Turn off Leitner, Turn on Show Arrows, Hearts and Flags, Checks and Crosses.

Try StudyCards again to see if this fixed the problem.

If this does not work we may need to salvage the cards or try migrating the old cards in again. Don't give up. Contact me for help. I am confident we will get your cards working.

How do I add cards to an existing deck using my computer?

If you created a deck on the iPhone and now you want to add cards on the computer the best way to do this going forward is by using the spreadsheet. These spreadsheets are downloadable on the createCards.html page. Use the spreadsheets to create cards in batch mode on the Free Website. You can create a deck on the iPhone and maintain your cards on the iPhone. When you're satisfied you can upload cards to the site, you can even email cards from within StudyCards to yourself in batch format. Choose a method you work best, either on the iPhone itself or on the Spreadsheet to create decks. Personally, I like the spreadsheets the best of all. It's fast and easy to make changes from anywhere.

To email your cards to yourself - tap on the "Change Settings" button (on the bottom of the main launch screen), then tap "Backup and Recovery" (again at the bottom). Then "Email" - all your data for all your decks will be included in clear text in the email. Enter your email address and email the card text. This is essentially the text you'd need to recreate your decks online. You can also format and copy this into the spreadsheet to edit on the computer.

Once your cards are in the spreadsheet format you can add, delete, edit cards on your computer and recreate the deck again whenever you wish. Just download the latest version to your iPhone to test then delete the older version.

How do I delete a deck?

At the deck listing page, tap on the "Edit" button at the top. A red circle will appear on the left to all decks you can delete. Tap the red circle on the left and confirm on the right side. A 'permanent' deck cannot be deleted without making changes to the settings area to change the permanent status of decks. An example of a permanent deck is the 'Favorites' deck.

Here is an example deleting a deck called "Demo Deck" after the 'Edit' button and the red circle have been tapped:

How can I add a card to an existing deck?

You can add another card a few ways:

Add dynamically while in study mode by tapping on the Edit button at the upper right (looks like a pencil) this will edit the current card - Add a New Card by tapping on the blue plus button again at the upper right.

Edit the Deck, tap on the Card Listing button at the lower left, when the card listing appears tap edit again and scroll to the bottom. Tap on the last row to "Add a Card".

The best way is to keep your decks on separate spreadsheets so you can make corrections or additions as needed. You can upload the decks online and download a fresh copy with the added cards.

How does StudyCards know when an answer is correct on a multiple choice card

Each multiple choice card embeds the answer. When you select and submit your answer the selection or selections are compared against the embedded answer. You embed the answer in the card detail page or in the batch load. One the card detail page it looks like this:

Notice that Annapolis is the only option that is Green. StudyCards understands this to mean it is the correct answer. If you are using the spreadsheet batch loading method:

Either way you get a card that allows StudyCards to know that Maryland's Capital is Annapolis.

Why don't I see all the fields when I edit a deck or a card?

You're probably not using the 'Advanced' version. Some fields were chosen to be associated with the 'Advanced' view to make it simpler to create decks and cards. Simply go to the settings area and select Advanced=ON to see all the fields

Switching to Advanced will allow you to see all the fields available to you when creating decks and cards.

While we're here you can also turn off the Left/Right Arrows by turning 'OFF' the Show Arrows option. Hearts and Flags can also be removed from the default study view.

Tap on Fonts and Background to change the font and font sizes and background images.

Backup and Restore will allow you to send a text version of your deck to an email address. This is useful if you ever need to recreate a deck.